John and Craig welcome special guests Megan Amram (The Good Place), Tom Schnauz (Better Call Saul) and Matt Selman (The Simpsons) to talk about writing television, from staffing to breaking story to the challenge of short seasons.

Then we try out two new segments: How Could This Be Funny and An Aubry Plaza Type. Do they work? It’s debatable!

There is also a Q&A, which you can find as a bonus episode for subscribers at scriptnotes.net.

Recorded live at the Writers Guild Theater on July 25, 2017. Thanks to the Writers Guild Foundation for hosting us, and a terrific audience.

Links:

• Megan Amram on Wikipedia, IMDb and Twitter
• Thomas Schnauz on Wikipedia, IMDb and Twitter
• Matt Selman on Wikipedia, IMDb and Twitter, and as host of Duly Noted: The Scriptnotes Aftershow
• Massive Iceberg Breaks Off from Antarctica
• Donald Trump Jr.
• Sperm Count Dropping in Western World
• O.J. Simpson Wins Parole, Claiming He Has Led a ‘Conflict-Free Life’
• Thanks to the Writers Guild Foundation for hosting us
• The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.